It took a crazy all-nighter of packing. Who knew that reducing a house full of nearly 10 years of possessions into a few suitcases and one storage room could be so overwhelming and time consuming. Okay, lots of people probably. But, as with so many things I've learned while getting older, nothing is quite the same as experiencing it yourself.

But it happened. I put the last thing in the storage room about 5 minutes after the car arrived to take me to the airport, and off we went to pick up Dorothy.